Ordinary diners who take part in our annual survey each spring review restaurants and leave their feedback, but we also ask them to score restaurants from 1-5 on food, service and ambience. Harden’s then uses an average of these scores and measures them against other establishments in the same price bracket to arrive at the ratings published in the guide and online.

Snippets from some of your feedback may end up in the overall Harden’s review, noticeably they appear in “double quotation marks”. The rest of our pithy, bite-sized restaurant summaries are compiled by analysing the survey data and extracting recurring themes, looking at whether or not a venue was nominated in any of our categories – like ‘favourite’ or ‘most overpriced’ – and, of course, looking at the ratings for food, service and ambience.

The Harden’s ratings indicate that a restaurant is:

exceptional very good good average poor

All reviews are compiled from survey comments and ratings, without any regard for our own personal opinions, except in cases where restaurants are too new to have been included in the survey. If you want the editors’ view on new restaurants in London you can find them in our Editors’ Review section.

Salt House

Spanish restaurant in Liverpool

Harden's
survey result

Summary

A “relaxed” urban-chic charcuterie and tapas bar, extending across two floors, and turning out “interesting plates full of flavour” (plus “reasonable” wines); those who regularly visit “have never been disappointed with any of the dishes served”.

Price

£46

££

Food

3

Good

Service

2

Average

Ambience

3

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

Reporters “love this place” – a “very popular” and “noisy” charcuteria and tapas bar with two floors and striking industrial-chic decor; the food ranges from “interesting” to “exceptional”. One peccadillo: “charging customers for tap water (even if the proceeds are apparently going to charity)”.

Price

£41

£

Food

3

Good

Service

3

Good

Ambience

3

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

For “lip-licking tapas in a low-lit industrial atmosphere”, this split-level venue is just the place; staff are “fantastically attentive” and “the prices aren’t outrageous” (especially the “good lunchtime deal”).

Price

£37

£

Food

3

Good

Service

4

Very Good

Ambience

3

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

“Are there more tapas restaurants in this small area of Liverpool than anywhere else in the UK?” – at any rate “this one is very good” thanks to its “traditional” yet “very imaginative” food; it “can get very noisy though”!

Price

£36

£

Food

3

Good

Service

4

Very Good

Ambience

3

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

For 28 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. This year diners have submitted over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK.

Have you eaten at Salt House?

Owner's description

We are Salt House, a Tapas joint in the heart of Liverpool, fresh, delicious tapas, great cocktails, fab wines and rocking staff!!